Andor acquisition to strengthen Oxford Instruments earnings

CIO Shaun Mundy says company revisiting its broader IT strategy

Oxford Instruments says its recent acquisition of Andor Technology is expected to firm up full-year earnings.

In a trading update this morning, the technology tools maker said the acquisition, made last December for £170 million, had accrued benefits but they were largely offset by a strengthening pound.

Nonetheless, Oxford Instruments expects to post a pre-tax profit in the range of £47.1 million to £47.5 million on the back of a "strong quarter" ending March 31. The USA remains a key market accounting for 25% of its group revenue, it added.

Last week, Shaun Mundy, CIO of Oxford Instruments, said he would be revisiting the company's IT strategy in wake of the Andor acquisition. Speaking at the release of the 2014 edition of CIO 100, Mundy said he was striving to make integration a core competence of the IT department to reflect the acquisitive nature of the organisation.

To this effect, his team would be concentrating on three core areas.

"First would be the IT operations side – aimed at integrating systems, improvement of service and delivering an increase in maturity. Next on the radar, would be business operations with the delivery of the ERP and initial deployments to achieve return on investment. And finally, we'd renew focus on digital," Mundy, a former Buro Happold IT chief, told CIO UK.